Mikael Åke Persbrandt was born on the 25 of September, 1963, in Jakobsberg, Stockholms län, Sweden. As a child, he enjoyed boxing and soccer, and as an adult, he worked as a taxi driver, and has even taken a forestry exam. In 1983 he joined the Academy of Ballet and studied there for one-and-a-half years. This led to his first acting job in a minor role in Ingmar Bergman’s “Kung Lear” (William Shakespeare) at the Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern in Stockholm. In 1991 Persbrandt had his first noteworthy appearance as an actor in a production of Rekviem at the Galeason Theater in Stockholm. That same year, he appeared as Ola Simonssen in Rederiet, one of the most popular Swedish soap opera series.

Beginning in 1997, he began playing a cynical police officer in the detective series “Beck” where he won acclaim both in Sweden and Germany. He also appeared as a police officer in “Jag ar din krigare” (“Nature’s Warrior”) and as a villainous drug dealer in “Beneath the Surface.” In 1998, he starred, again as a police officer, in “Sista kontraktet” (“The last Contract”). In 1999 he received critical acclaim for his role as a psychopathic serial killer in “Dodlig drift” (“Deadly Compulsion”), and was nominated for the Guldbagge award, the most important award in Swedish film, in the best leading actor category.

In 2008 he starred in “Heaven’s Heart” and 2010 saw him starring in the Danish drama film “In a Better World.” He has frequently appeared on stage, at the Galeason Theater and at the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theater, including a leading role in the Theater’s production of Moliere’s Don Juan.

He has visited child soldiers in Liberia as a Swedish UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and has also visited children in the slums of Sao Paulo, Brazil with soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic for an organization supporting the rights of the children living there.  In his spare time, Persbrandt enjoys car and motorcycle racing.

More details about Mikael’s long and impressive resume is available on his website: http://www.persbrandt.com/